Post-18 Guidance

While our Year 11s were preparing themselves to face their first Mock IGCSE week this past week, the Secondary team has been working on developing guidance on post-18 paths and establishing links with a variety of institutions, in country and abroad.

Representing the British Centre for Languages in Qatar, Mr Khalid paid NAISAK a visit to lay out the different pathways ahead for students who might need some additional support with their command of English, before embarking on a more subject-specific journey.

NAISAK has been lucky to welcome Mr Stene Verhulst, from Colorado State University, who advertised the opportunities offered to students wishing to study in the US. Colorado State University is located in a beautiful park and is well known for its influential work on sustainable development.

Qatar saw the opening of a brand new campus in August 2017 housing the University Foundation College, bringing the first UK-recognised and accredited International Foundation programmes from the Northern Consortium of UK Universities (NCUK), an organisation founded by 11 leading UK universities, including the University of Manchester, University of Leeds, University of Bradford and University of Sheffield. The programmes are developed in partnership with these universities and are quality-assured by them. Ms Gonzalès met with Ms Hamilton, the Head of Recruitment and Admissions. Although the branch is new in Qatar and yet to be fully operational, establishing links is important as the project is the first of its kind in the country and promises to support students from a variety of academic backgrounds to access British universities.

This past week, Ms Gonzalès met with Mr Millar, of BAE Systems (BAE). BAE is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company and has been contracted by the British Government to work in partnership with the Qatari military forces. This partnership is opening opportunities for post-18 students to take part in a fully sponsored four-year training in England, leading to full-time employment with the Qatari military forces. All interested students, regardless of their nationality and gender, are encouraged to apply. Mr Millar and the BAE Head of Training are coming back to NAISAK on Monday 11 December to talk to some of our Year 10 and 11 students.

In January, some representatives of the Qatari police forces will come to school to offer a police dog demonstration to our students, followed by a presentation on career paths within the national police forces. The objective is to raise awareness of the variety of professions within the police field.

Some parents might remember that last year’s Year 10 students took part in personality and skill tests provided by 101.Careers. The goal was to help students identify their areas of interest and how those interests relate or not to their current skill set. In the aim of supporting the students’ self-initiated pursue of individual study/professional interests, the school purchased the 101.Careers subscription and all Year 11 students have been provided with their 101.Careers login details. Current Year 10 students will soon take their personality and skill tests and be provided with their own access to the website. On the 101.Careers platform, students will find multiple career options that suit their personality, interests, strengths and skills.

As parents and educators, let us remember, promote and celebrate the fact that there is not only one path to further study and career success!

Year 9 and Year 11 parents, please make a note of the following dates in your calendar:

-Monday 8 January: Year 10 Options Information evening (for our current Year 9 students and their parents),

-Tuesday 9 January: Year 12 Options Information evening (for our current Year 11 students and their parents).